A 24-year-old Austell man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday for the February assault of a Smyrna police officer, authorities said Friday.
A Cobb judge sentenced Kevin Shymel Gibbs to 30 years with 20 years to serve. Gibbs was convicted of five charges, which included obstruction and reckless driving, resulting from an incident earlier this year in which Gibbs hit an officer with his car.
About 5 p.m. Feb. 12, Smyrna police Officer Daniel Stuckey tried to approach Gibbs’ car, which was the only one parked in Jonquil Park, said Kim Isaza, the spokeswoman for Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds.
When Stuckey got out of his car, Gibbs hit the officer in the legs with his Hyundai Sonata, she said. Gibbs disobeyed orders to stop, accelerated toward the officer a second time, then sped out of the park and into oncoming traffic after Stuckey shot him, Isaza said. Gibbs hit a Buick Enclave at the intersection of Spring Street and Glenroy Drive without stopping before crashing into a median.
In the sentencing hearing Thursday, Cobb Superior Court Judge C. LaTain Kell tried to impress upon Gibbs that he had endangered many people and hurt others, Isaza said.
“It is amazing no one else was seriously injured,” Kell said.
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